American Marriage Ministries welcomes ordained minister number 900,000! We’re committed to providing legal ordination online and minister credentials valid and recognized in every US state and territory, along with wedding officiant training tools, sample wedding ceremony scripts, and wedding planning articles.

How to tie a handfasting cord during a wedding ceremony: 3 simple handfasting knot examples for the handfasting officiant, engaged couple, or family members!

Prepare for your handfasting ceremony and wedding day with American Marriage Ministries’ handfasting quiz! Plus links to our most popular handfasting articles and ceremony scripts.

A step-by-step guide to getting married in Idaho - from finding a wedding officiant and choosing a wedding venue, to how to apply for, complete, and return your Idaho marriage license.

Tips for new or first time wedding officiant: Ask to review a couple’s written wedding vows before the ceremony to ensure compatible length and tone. This is especially helpful when a couple is keeping their vows a surprise, and helps avoid wedding day disasters and an awkward exchange of vows.

Video: Minister Sam Heath describes the first time he was asked to officiate a wedding for a same gender, same-sex couple in Georgia that lead to his ordination, and the importance of showing up to that first conversation with warmth, authenticity, acceptance, and love.

Learn how ordained ministers and wedding officiants can offer premarital counseling and relationship coaching services to the couples they marry. These services can improve communication, increase feelings of connection, and make the wedding ceremony planning experience more enjoyable.

Learn how to get your real wedding published on the AMM Wedding Wall. This unique feature is available to AMM Ministers and their couples, and helps showcase the work of wonderful wedding officiants on the American Marriage Ministries website.

US Judge in Kentucky finds that Kim Davis violated the constitutional rights of same-sex couples by refusing to issue them a marriage license in 2015, despite the Supreme Court’s Obergefell ruling in favor of marriage equality for LGBTQ couples.

A short video on what to say when officiating a wedding to make sure the ceremony meets the legal requirements for your state. A must-watch video for wedding officiants and engaged couples planning a custom ceremony and wedding script, with examples of the Declaration of Intent and Pronouncement.

Planning a secret wedding ceremony, and don’t want your friends or family to find out? Couples choose to get married privately for a variety of reasons – and we’ll show you a simple, easy way to elope, and everything else you need to know to keep your marriage to yourself!

Looking for the perfect wedding gift, or a way to show friends and family that you support the marriage even when you can’t attend their ceremony? Why not send a life-size cardboard cutout of yourself instead!

Will lawmakers in South Carolina pass legislation to remove the 24-hour waiting period to marry in the state? Read about proposed changes to the marriage license application process in the state and Senate Bill 283 (SB 0283), prefiled for the 2023-2024 session.

Will lawmakers in SC amend the state’s marriage license application process to limit legal grounds for divorce? Learn about the proposed Religious Freedom of Marriage Act, House Bill 3488, sponsored by Rep. Thomas Beach, and the impacts it might have on South Carolina marriage laws. (HB 3488, prefiled for the 2023-2024 session)

We've added a fun new officiant script to AMM's free wedding ceremony scripts library! This script celebrates when 'opposites attract' in love and marriage, by celebrating differences that make you and your partner the perfect match. This outline includes a warm welcome and invocation, declaration of intent, exchange of rings and promises, and a simple pronouncement sealed with a kiss. Original wedding script written by ordained AMM Minister, songwriter, and professional officiant Karen E. Reynolds.

Asked to officiate a friend's wedding ceremony? Learn how to get ordained online and officiate a wedding for friends or relatives, including ordination, minister certification and registration, the basic outline and parts of a wedding, what to say, and your responsibility to sign and return the marriage license.

Learn how marriage licenses become public records in the city or county where you marry, why some couples want a private wedding, and how to keep your marriage records a secret with California's 'confidential marriage license' and Michigan's 'marriage license without publicity.'

The ultimate wedding regret! Learn what to do if a couple changes their minds about being married after the wedding ceremony, and what your legal responsibility is as a wedding officiant when it's time to return a signed marriage license to the clerk or registrar's office.

Tips for wearing and caring for your AMM wedding officiant stole

From writing personalized vows to planning and officiating weddings, Asked to Officiate empowers you to conduct an authentic, meaningful, and memorable ceremony. Are you a first time wedding officiant? Asked to officiate a wedding for friends or family members, or become a professional wedding officiant? This step-by-step guide offers everything you need to know to officiate with confidence.

every wedding professional should get ordained with American Marriage Ministries because you never know when the minister will get sick, or lost, or back out and you can save the day!